Clarity on the use of Action Replay

[tratjack]

Ok so I already tried to put this in the beginners lounge in the ROM hacking section and was told to try putting it here by colcolstyles. I hope this is where it belongs!

OK, so I just went and purchased an Action Replay today and have been looking at some codes for it. Now from what I've been seeing and asking I'm pretty sure your pokemon is still legitimate after cloning it with the action replay and you can EV/IV check and also use it to get your SID, but will this still keep my game (and pokemon) good for official tournaments? Also, if I use the AR to get all items and masterballs and whatnot (and an unlimited amount of them) or use it to get infinite money and then spend that money on items and then use it on a pokemon will that make the pokemon hacked? There was also a code to encounter shiny pokemon in the wild, and since that alters the pokemon does that make it hacked?

I really would like the answer to these questions so that I can keep my pokemon legit for battle and so I'm not going around trading other PC users hacked pokemon and then be booted or what not, cause that would be terrible. XD

Now I'm sure there are some types of codes that I haven't seen yet so if you think I missed a major code or something can you answer that too haha. I would really appreciate any input from anybody so that I can learn as much as I can about it and so other new users of the AR can also know whats legit and whats hacked!

Thanks!

 

[Speed]

I don't think using an AR is legit at all. It is cheating, and that wouldn't be fair.

 

[bobandbill]

Depends on the person as people have different opinions, however I would personally say my understanding is stuff like

There was also a code to encounter shiny pokemon in the wild, and since that alters the pokemon does that make it hacked?

makes the Pokemon to be un-legit because you didn't actually get a shiny Pokemon through standard means, you 'hacked' the game to make it shiny. Some people would be ok with using AR to get money and whatnot but not if you're directly affecting the Pokemon.

At any rate, the use of AR is not HGSS-only so I'll move this to the Pokemon Gaming Central section as it'll fit there better, imo.

 

[Sydian]

Do Not Ask For Or Give Out Action Replay/GameShark Codes
- Once again, please use Google for codes. We're not gonna risk messing your game up. Discussion on the use of AR/GS and opinions are perfectly fine, provided that no one is giving out codes.

Just posting that so no one starts passing out codes, otherwise I will remove the codes from posts and infractions will be given. And if that happens and continues, I will lock the thread.

On to less serious stuff, I personally don't want to battle hacked Pokemon. There are some things I'm fine with (if you hack in TMs, or event Pokemon because you can't get to the event/have no Wi-Fi, provided you don't hack the stats/moves/etc on the Pokemon), but I try to refrain from it. I don't like hacking myself, but I have a hacked Arceus, Darkrai, and Shaymin because at the time, I couldn't get the events due to no Wi-Fi. I don't like to use them against people though. They're just for raising in-game, because I like to have all the Pokemon in each generation, lol.

Hacking for shinies isn't fun either. :( Ruins the thrill of finding one...

 

[Alternative]

The way I see it, cheating, or hacking Pokemon is poorly frowned upon here. What we consider hacking is pretty much anything that cannot be obtained through means of legitimacy. If you use an Action Replay to say check a Pokemon's IVs, then it's all fine with that, but using a 100% shiny encounter code is considered hacked. Other things we consider hacked are things like Rebattle codes (So you can rebattle legendaries and get multiples of them), any hacked wondercards/tickets etc.

 

[tratjack]

ok all this is good but, if i use a hack to get money and spend thus money on say a tm or vitamins for a pokemon is it then considered hack? like can it pass a hack check for a tournament and whatnot. Im not asking cause i want to cheat im asking cause i want to know so i dont mess up. and cloning is not considered hacking right? like if a poke is cloned while holding an item and then that item is cloned as well is it hacked?

 

[Alternative]

As long as the Pokemon hasn't been altered in any way using the hacking device in question, then the Pokemon is considered legit. Since you can obtain lots of money throughout the game and buy vitamins like that, using an infinite money cheat to do so otherwise is considered legit. Pretty much if the cheat doesn't alter the Pokemon directly, like changing it's EVs to whatever you want, then the Pokemon is completely legit.

 

[Kavii]

Don't quote me on this, but since you're talking about Pokemon passing a tourney hack check (like for an official Pokemon tourney event?), you might not want to bother risking using AR AT ALL.

When last year's Pokemon tourney was announced, there were a few (or one major - I don't recall if the mods merged the threads) threads in the HGSS forum about the tourney and one of the things talked about was what was consider hacked or not.

One of the points brought up was that during an official tournament like that one, the game officials have a way of checking to see if your game cartridge has been touched AT ALL by something like AR. From what it sounded like, it seemed as if they could tell if the cartridge alone had/has been touched and it wouldn't matter if your actual Pokemon were 'hacked' or not.

Just passing on a tidbit of food for thought that came up during the last series of official tournaments.

 

[tratjack]

kavii thats exactly what i wanted to know! so if your game has been touched by AR or any pokemon traded to the game in question has been touched by AR it then makes it so you can't play at all?

 

[Pink Typholsion]

I only use it (AR) if I've beaten the game before so.
I think the shiny code shouldn't be considered "hacking, or not legit" because all the shiny code does is that it changes the color of that Pokemon, it doesn't make the Pokemon any more stronger than if it wasn't shiny. It does say "alter" the Pokemon, but it doesn't make it any better...

 

[Kavii]

kavii thats exactly what i wanted to know! so if your game has been touched by AR or any pokemon traded to the game in question has been touched by AR it then makes it so you can't play at all?

I'm headed off to work in a few so this will be the last response I can give you until I come back (which will be in another 4ish hours or so), but I'll answer as much of your questions now and whatever questions you still have I will answer when I come back. :)


As far as I know/have researched/have seen the majority of tourney-participants agree on:

1) If the GAME has been touched by AR (as in, you're using AR on your game) or if your GAME has been touched by any other outside/third party device/means, it is possible the official game tourney hack checkers might be able to detect it and therefore disqualify you.

2) If you RECEIVE a hacked Pokemon by accident AND DON'T USE IT IN THE TOURNEY, I don't think you will disqualified as that isn't the same as having your own cartridge being touched by an outside 'hacking' third party device/means. I mean, how can you tell during a trade if it's 'hacked' or not? Sometimes, it isn't obvious. But for that exact reason, I wouldn't use a traded Pokemon in an official tourney unless I knew 100% sure the person who I traded with got it through 100% legit means.


I will try and see if I can get some hard citations/quotes from official resources. I know Nintendo themselves posted something the last time the official tourneys were announced; I just don't remember right off the top of my head exactly how thorough they were in explaining how they would check.

EDIT: Some citations:

https://www.pokecommunity.com/posts/5723702 (my own post quoting the rules posted by Nintendo)

https://www.pokemonvgc.com/en/regulations.php (Nintendo's official rules and regulations! - found it!)

Hope these help. :)

 

[PokéSwimmer]

I only use it (AR) if I've beaten the game before so.
I think the shiny code shouldn't be considered "hacking, or not legit" because all the shiny code does is that it changes the color of that Pokemon, it doesn't make the Pokemon any more stronger than if it wasn't shiny. It does say "alter" the Pokemon, but it doesn't make it any better...

I completely disagree. While it is true that shiny Pokémon aren't any stronger than "regular" Pokémon, they are still inherently more valuable than other Pokémon solely because they are shiny. Alter a Pokémon in any way and it is hacked.

 

[s4rg10]

Checking IV should be consired as cheating as well, because you are seeing stats that you arent able to see whitout using cheating device

But than again i dont care if people are cheating or not as long it doesnt affect others, i dont battle online so i really dont care at all

 

[tratjack]

Checking IV should be consired as cheating as well, because you are seeing stats that you arent able to see whitout using cheating device

But than again i dont care if people are cheating or not as long it doesnt affect others, i dont battle online so i really dont care at all

you can still check an IV without using the AR

and I read the pokemon vgc site and from what I got is that the PARTY pokemon are the ones that can't be altered, not your game. Although I could be wrong XD anyone here work for Nintendo??? haha :)

 

[Oblivion Wing]

I use my AR for stats checking. I actually like to encounter shinies when they appear.

 

[PokéSwimmer]

Checking IV should be consired as cheating as well, because you are seeing stats that you arent able to see whitout using cheating device

It is entirely possible to calculate IVs without a cheating device. There are actually various IV calculators available on the internet which you can use to calculate the Pokémon's IVs (this is most accurate at level 100). If you know the formula for stat calculations (which is available on Bulbapedia), you can calculate the IVs yourself. This is most likely why it is not considered cheating by most people.

 

[s4rg10]

It is entirely possible to calculate IVs without a cheating device. There are actually various IV calculators available on the internet which you can use to calculate the Pokémon's IVs (this is most accurate at level 100). If you know the formula for stat calculations (which is available on Bulbapedia), you can calculate the IVs yourself. This is most likely why it is not considered cheating by most people.

Ahh, good to know that, i dont EV/IV train so never looked this up (but than again i have legit Palkia lvl1 wich i would like to EV train so will have to look it up)

 

[Kavii]

Since we're all talking about IV checking and whatnot...

In HGSS (probably in the other games, too), you can go to two different places in the Johto and Kanto regions and two different people in those certain places can tell you information that is related to your IVs. Even though no actual numbers are given, there are ranges that these people's statements fall under (like characteristics in relation to Natures) so in some ways, even without the online IV calculators, you CAN sort of get a gauge for what your Pokemon's IVs might be.

Just thought I would throw that out there.

 

[Bibliophibian]

From what I've been told elsewhere, for tournaments they mainly check to see if items/Pokemon have just appeared out of nowhere, and can also check the PIDs of Pokemon to see if they've been messed with. I think they only do the check for the Pokemon in your party, but I'm not really sure.

A good general guideline to keep in mind is that if you're altering/obtaining a Pokemon in some way that wouldn't be possible without using the AR, it will most likely be considered hacked.

As far as items go, the only time you'd run into any problems using those would be if you hacked for an unreleased event item (like the Azure Flute) caught a wild Pokemon in a Cherish Ball, or a Safari Ball (outside the Safari Zone) etc. TMs and things like that would be perfectly fine to use and wouldn't affect the legitimacy of your Pokemon.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Just wondering... if you use an AR to hack a game then reset it (or you buy a used copy and the previous owner hacked it) and you DON'T use the AR on the reset game, will it be detected as being hacked from the previous game save even if you don't hack in the current game save?

Also, what if you trade/battle Pokemon directly (i.e., Union Room) with a hacked game version even if the traded/battling Pokemon themselves weren't hacked? I'm concerned because of my brother's heavy use of the AR (fortunately he doesn't battle online).

As a final question (sorry about so many!) what about Pokemon bred through legitimate means but with "hacked" parents? Would they be considered hacked or legit (I bred a few from Pokemon I got from the GTS and I have no idea if they're legit or not)?